Ibn Tibbon
Encyclopedia
Ibn Tibbon is a family of Jewish rabbis
and translators that lived principally in Provence
in the 12th and 13th centuries.
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
and translators that lived principally in Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
in the 12th and 13th centuries.
Prominent family members
Prominent members of the family include:- Judah ben Saul ibn TibbonJudah ben Saul ibn TibbonJudah ben Saul ibn Tibbon was a translator and physician.Born in Granada, he left Spain in 1150, probably on account persecution by the Almohades, and went to Lunel in southern France. Benjamin of Tudela mentions him as a physician there in 1160...
(1120–after 1190), translator and physician.
- Born in GranadaGranadaGranada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
, he left SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in 1150, probably on account of anti-Semitic persecutionPersecutionPersecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution, ethnic persecution, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, isolation,...
by the Almohades, and went to LunelLunelLunel is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. Lunel is located east of Montpellier and southwest of Nîmes .-History:The ancient Roman site of Ambrussum is located nearby. The troubadour Folquet de Lunel was from Lunel....
in southern FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Benjamin of TudelaBenjamin of TudelaBenjamin of Tudela was a medieval Jewish traveler who visited Europe, Asia, and Africa in the 12th century. His vivid descriptions of western Asia preceded those of Marco Polo by a hundred years...
mentions him as a physician there in 1160. He died around 1190, in Marseille, France.
- Samuel ben Judah ibn TibbonSamuel ben Judah ibn TibbonSamuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon, more commonly known as Samuel ibn Tibbon , was a Jewish philosopher and doctor. He was born about 1150 in Lunel , and died about 1230 in Marseilles...
(LunelLunelLunel is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. Lunel is located east of Montpellier and southwest of Nîmes .-History:The ancient Roman site of Ambrussum is located nearby. The troubadour Folquet de Lunel was from Lunel....
, 1150–Marseilles, 1230), more commonly known as Samuel ibn Tibbon, Jewish philosopher and doctor.
- Best known for his translations of Jewish rabbinic literature from ArabicArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
to HebrewHebrew languageHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, he was an adherent of MaimonidesMaimonidesMoses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
and his interpretation of the Bible, and is famous for his translations and writings on the philosophy of Maimonides.
- Moses ibn TibbonMoses ibn TibbonMoses ibn Tibbon was a Jewish physician, author and translator. The number of works written by Moses ibn Tibbon makes it probable that he reached a great age....
(born in Marseilles; flourished between 1240 and 1283) was a Jewish physician, author and translator.
- The number of works written by Moses ibn Tibbon makes it probable that he reached a great age. He was son of Samuel ibn Tibbon, and father of the Judah ibn Tibbon who was prominent in the Maimonidean controversy which took place at MontpellierMontpellier-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
.
- Judah ben Moses ibn Tibbon.
- A rabbiRabbiIn Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
in Montpellier; he took part in the dispute between the followers and the opponents of Maimonides. He induced his relative Jacob ben Machir ibn Tibbon to support the Maimonidean party by pointing out that the anti-Maimonideans were the opponents of his grandfather Samuel ibn Tibbon and his grandfather's son-in-law, Jacob ben Abba Mari ben Samson ben Anatoli. In consequence of this, Jacob ben Machir ibn Tibbon protested against the reading of Solomon ben Adret's letter to the community of Montpellier, which nevertheless took place in the synagogueSynagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
of that city on the following day, a SabbathShabbatShabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
, in the month of ElulElulElul is the twelfth month of the Jewish civil year and the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a summer month of 29 days...
, 1304. According to Jacob ben Machir ibn Tibbon, Judah wrote various works. None of them are extant.
- Jacob ben Machir ibn TibbonJacob ben Machir ibn TibbonJacob ben Machir ibn Tibbon, of the Ibn Tibbon family, also known as Prophatius.Provençal, Jewish astronomer; born, probably at Marseilles, about 1236; died at Montpellier about 1304. He was a grandson of Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon. His Provençal name was Don Profiat Tibbon; the Latin writers...
, known as Prophatius, (MarseilleMarseilleMarseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
(probably) c.1236–MontpellierMontpellier-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
, c.1304), an astronomerAstronomerAn astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
.
- He was a grandson of Samuel ben Judah ibn TibbonSamuel ben Judah ibn TibbonSamuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon, more commonly known as Samuel ibn Tibbon , was a Jewish philosopher and doctor. He was born about 1150 in Lunel , and died about 1230 in Marseilles...
. In the controversy between the Maimonists and the anti-Maimonists Jacob defended scienceScienceScience is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
against the attacks of Abba MariAbba MariAbba Mari ben Moses ben Joseph, was a Provençal rabbi, born at Lunel, near Montpellier, towards the end of the 13th century. He is also known as Yarhi from his birthplace Abba Mari ben Moses ben Joseph, was a Provençal rabbi, born at Lunel, near Montpellier, towards the end of the 13th century. He...
and his party.
Others
- Samuel ibn Tibbon. The son of Moses ibn Tibbon, he is first mentioned in a responsum of Solomon ben Adret (Neubauer, in "R. E. J." xii. 82 et seq.), which narrates a suit brought by Samuel against his rich young cousin Bionguda . Bionguda was the youngest of three daughters born to Bella, the daughter of Moses ibn Tibbon. After the death of her husband, Jacob ha-Kohen (1254), Bella went to Marseille, where Bionguda became engaged to Isaac ben Isaac. Samuel ibn Tibbon, who at that time was probably living at Marseille, contested the legality of the marriage to Isaac ben Isaac, saying that he had made Bionguda his legal wife while she was still living at Naples. Bionguda denied this.
- Abraham ibn Tibbon. Translator of AristotleAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
's EconomicsEconomics (Aristotle)The Economics is a work that has been ascribed to Aristotle. It is usually attributed, by modern scholars, to a student of Aristotle, or to a student of his successor Theophrastus....
. His exact relationship to the Tibbon family is unknown.